Conceived of to help the network's clients navigate the complexities of today and prepare themselves for the even greater complexities of tomorrow, 'Now & Next' synthesizes rich crowd-sourced insights to provide the reader with invaluable foresight into what successful engagement will entail in the future.

Pascal Beucler, Chief Strategy Officer at MSLGROUP commented, "Looking to help our clients build increasingly rich connections with consumers and stakeholders, we have studied hundreds of web platforms and brand programs in the areas of social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship; looked at the interconnections between them, identified the patterns that form, and then extrapolated these patterns to the future".

Glenn Osaki, President, MSLGROUP Asia, commented, "In a fast-moving region like Asia, it's imperative for businesses and brands to plan not only for today, but also for tomorrow. This is why it is no big surprise that the report points out that big emerging markets like China and India are producing innovations that are often amongst the best examples in their categories anywhere in the world. Our MSLGROUP Asia team is geared towards working with our clients to push limits and advise solutions which in their nature encompass Now & Next".

A year in the making, MSLGROUP's 'Now & Next' takes an in-depth look at what the company considers the ten key frontiers shaping engagement today: Crowdfunding, Behavior Change Games, Collaborative Social Innovation, Grassroots Change Movements, Co-creation Communities, Social Curation, Transmedia Storytelling, Collective Intelligence, Social Live Experiences and Collaborative Consumption.

Analyzing these ten frontiers, a number of important patterns emerge, namely:

It's a People's World: Entrepreneurs and changemakers, not organizations and corporations, are creating the future of engagement. One consequence is that organizations must learn best practices from entrepreneurs and changemakers, and adapt them to their own engagement efforts.

It's a Purpose-led World: Engagement is increasingly being ignited by a shared purpose and a sense of citizenship. There's an urgent need for organizations to collaboratively redefine what they stand for and design purpose-inspired platforms and programs.

It's a Boundless World: Engagement is increasingly unbound by channel. Media organizations are often at the forefront of digital media innovation. Corporations must follow their lead and create platforms and programs that are truly unbound by channel.

It's a Social World: The shared purpose that fuels engagement is often a societal purpose -- like sustainability, wellness and learning but also self-interest and self-improvement. Corporations need to tap into both these motivations.

It's a Complex World: While entrepreneurs, changemakers and media organizations are creating long term platforms, corporations often limit themselves to creating short-term programs that are easier to fit into the framework of a campaign. Corporations must learn the skills and mindset needed to create long-term platforms.

It's a Demanding World: Media organizations and corporations are beginning to acquire innovative startups to engage people in more meaningful ways. Corporations will increasingly need to behave like venture capitalists, with a portfolio of investments in the future.

It's a Fragmented World: Entrepreneurs are creating specialized software solutions to help organizations engage people using specific tools, in specific verticals. Such engagement solutions will become even more niche, even as bigger players try to position their engagement solutions as more integrated.

It's a Global World: The platforms and programs that point to the future of engagement are originating not only in the US, but from all over the world, including Europe, Asia and Latin America, with the Nordics contributing a disproportionate share of path-breaking projects.

'Now & Next: The Future of Engagement' by MSLGROUP is available to download here.